The Snatcher and the Scent
by lovesaphira
Summary: After that fateful near-meeting, Hermione's dreams are haunted by that mysterious long-haired snatcher. And he is haunted by her scent. he's determined to find her. And she's determined to stay away. Well they can't both get what they want, can they.
1. Chapter 1

**I know the title's lame but i can't think of anything better. lol. **

**So I saw Deathly Hallows and needless to say I fell for the new villain Scabior. Good to see I'm not the only one. LOL. So this fanfic is really just an excuse to write about him. Haha. **

**I was putting off writing this because I wanted to watch all the scenes it entails again before I wrote it so I could get it as close to the movie as possible. I couldn't for the life of me find this one, or the scarf one later on but that's not as important. Lol. But I really want to get this written before too many people write something like this and the idea turns stale. There's already like a dozen of em. I'll fix it later once I've seen the movie again. Hehe **

**So without further ado these are the chronicles of Scabior and Hermione. Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 1: The almost meeting**

Hermione sat on a rock slightly out from the tent, reading her book _Tales of Beedle the bard_. It was her turn to keep watch and she was really just reading the book to pass the time.

She was grateful it wasn't her turn to wear the locket as well. She hated that thing and the way it clouded her judgment. Ron was wearing it today. She felt sorry for him. She knew it was affecting him the most. He was already quite miserable with having to camp out in the freezing weather with meager food supplies. Wearing the locket wasn't helping his attitude at all.

Hermione didn't mind their living conditions as much. She liked the peace and quiet of the forest. It was nice to sit out here and just think. And while they were all constantly on the alert for danger, she knew the wards set around the campsite wouldn't give them away. They were well protected and so she contently sat outside on her watch, scouring the book Dumbledore had given her. There had to be a reason she'd received it and she was determined to figure out what it was, even if it meant reading it through for the thousandth time.

_SNAP!_

Hermione's head shot up as she heard the snap of a twig from nearby and then the sound of footsteps heading in her direction. As she stood up _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ dropped off her lap to the ground, momentarily forgotten.

A moment later she saw them. A group of men. And they were heading straight for her. She held her breath as she watched them. For the first time ever she found herself doubting the wards she'd set up. _What if they didn't really work?_

She spent the next few moments fretting about her wards before she realized that the men walked straight past her, not even registering that she was there. She let out a small sigh and silently thanked whatever god was out there.

She then noticed that one of the men was carrying an unconscious man. The man looked beaten, bruised and bloody. A sickening thought hit her. These men were snatchers. She'd heard of them of course. Groups of men, some of them Death Eaters but most of them not, tracking down muggle-borns and blood traitors and handing them over to the ministry for gold.

An involuntary shiver ran down her spine as she thought about it. The snatchers could be looking for them too. There was a monumental bounty on Harry's head and every snatcher would most likely be hoping to nab him. She made a note to tell Harry and Ron that they should leave as soon as possible. They couldn't stay here with snatchers hanging around. It was too dangerous, even with their wards.

She let out a sigh of relief as they passed her with no problems. She was about to turn and head back to camp to warn Harry and Ron when one of the snatchers turned back around to face her direction.

Her heart stopped for a moment. Did he know she was there?

"What's that?" she heard him ask to the others as he started walking towards her. His words were slightly muffled but she could still hear him. Her heart started beating faster and louder in her chest. So loudly, in fact, that she swore people would be able to hear it. Especially this long-haired snatcher standing in front of her analyzing the spot where she was. But he didn't.

He couldn't see her. She was sure of that. If he could see her he would have made a move already. Not to mention he looked completely puzzled as to what could be there. And she was pretty sure she hadn't made a sound so he definitely couldn't hear her. He wasn't close enough to touch her and he certainly couldn't taste her (This last one made her shiver with dread). So that only left one sense left.

Smell.

He could smell her. She gulped silently as he kept staring at her with those penetrating eyes. She was wearing perfume. And he could smell it. Did he know she was there? Or was it just a coincidence. Did he just think someone had been there? He didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stared at her. Through her. Making her heart race. Making her blood pulse with fear. With dread. He scared her. She had never come across anyone she had been this scared of before. Except for Voldemort, she supposed. But she hadn't actually met him.

She couldn't understand the reason for her fear. This man had done nothing to her. She didn't know him. And he didn't know her. He was a complete stranger. And yet his appearance sent shivers of fear down her spine.

"Oi Scab, what are you doing?" one of the snatchers called, gaining the attention of the snatcher in front of her.

Hermione looked over to the rest of the snatchers and spotted the one who'd spoken. A shudder ran through her body. Greyback the werewolf was there. There was no doubt about it. This was a dangerous group of snatchers.

"I thought I saw something" the Snatcher in front of her replied before turning back to Hermione. He leant closer to her, making her heart skip a beat. She wanted to move away. To run from him. But something kept her glued to the spot. Fear was paralyzing her and keeping her from stepping away from the threat this snatcher posed.

It was as if he was a snake hypnotizing its prey. She closed her eyes and childishly hoped he would be gone when she opened them again. He was still there, staring at her intently. Well, he probably didn't know it. But she did and it was making her quiver.

_Just go, just go, just go, just go_ she prayed nervously.

He probably would have kept staring through her if a loud thump hadn't gotten his attention. They both turned away from each other to once again look over at the rest of the snatchers. One of them had dropped the tent on the ground.

Hermione held her breath as the snatcher's attention was drawn away from her. There was an exchange between him and the snatcher that had dropped the tent before he walked away. But not before giving the spot she was standing in a once over.

Once he was gone she sighed with relief.

She heard another snap from right behind her and jumped about a foot in the air from fright. She whirled around to see harry coming towards her.

She calmed down once she saw him. "Harry, don't scare me like that" she scolded lightly.

Harry looked at her apologetically before nodding to the men who had now disappeared. "Snatchers. It's a good thing your wards work, Hermione" he noted as he came over to her.

Hermione nodded, unable to get the long haired snatcher's gaze out of her mind. "He could smell it" she said in a small voice. "My perfume."

She had been stupid. Why was she wearing perfume in the middle of the forest? It served no purpose whatsoever.

Deep down, she knew the reason. She wanted Ron to notice her. But of course he hadn't. He was too busy scowling over their current living conditions to notice.

She noticed that her book was lying on the ground and bent down to pick it up before following Harry back to camp. "We should probably leave tomorrow morning, if not tonight. We shouldn't stay here with them hanging around" she voiced.

Harry nodded. "I agree. And don't take this the wrong way, 'cause your perfume is fine and everything, but don't wear it" he told her, half seriously and half jokingly.

Hermione let out a chuckle as they got to the tent just in time to see Ron scowl. She sighed. Maybe it was time she relieved him of the locket for a while.

**Well there's chapter 1. I was going to write Scabior's point of view as well but i'm tired and its late. LOL. and i was excited to get this up. So Scabior's pov will just have to wait until later. **

**Hope you enjoyed this and please review. I'll love you if you do :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay chapter 2 is officially up. This has to be the quickest update i've ever done. Mind you this chapter isn't very long so that helps. I discovered while writing this that its extremely difficult to write Scabior's character. lol. probably coz i don't know enough about him. hermione's easy coz there's seven books and movies to understand her character from. **

**But oh well, i managed it. Hopefully you all like it.**

**Speaking of you, thank you thank you thank you everyone who reviewed,subbed and favourited this fanfic. i love you all. The response to this has been amazing. You're what keeps me going. I would qucikly lose interest if i didnt have wonderful people like you reviewing my fanfic. Hopefully this pleases you all.**

**Chapter 2: The almost meeting part 2**

Scabior sauntered lazily through the forest behind his merry band of snatchers. He was in a reasonably pleased mood today. They had just caught another Mudblood, one that ranked quite high on the Ministry's list. So he was about to get a reasonably good sum of gold for this one. He put up a pretty good fight, too. They had to knock him unconscious before they could snatch him.

Thoughts of the gold he would get put him in such a good mood, in fact, that he even started humming to himself as he walked. Not loud enough that anyone could hear, of course. It was just a tuneless quiet hum to represent his high spirits.

As they searched for a decent place to camp for the night, Scabior breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh air.

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The air wasn't as clear as he thought it would be. "What's that?" he wondered aloud. He could smell a faint scent in the air that smelled a bit like jasmine. _That's strange,_ he thought. There was no jasmine around currently.

He backtracked slightly, noticing the scent got stronger as he went. Ignoring the questioning looks from the other snatchers, he kept walking back the way he came, searching for the source of the scent.

He stopped again, slightly confused. The scent was the strongest here. He tried to move forward to find where the scent was coming from. But an invisible force was keeping him from doing so. He wasn't physically being held back but something was stopping him from taking another step forward.

So he just stared intently at the place he now knew the scent was coming from. His intuition was telling him something was there. His common sense was telling him otherwise. It was quite obvious no one was there. If there was he would definitely see them.

But that smell…..

It was that smell that kept him staring and hoping if he stayed there long enough the owner of the scent would reveal themselves.

He was growing impatient. He felt like the person was challenging him. Daring him to find her. To push through the invisible force and grab her. Snatch her. He wondered if she'd be on the list. She probably was. No one would go to such lengths to stay hidden if they weren't on the run.

Would she fight him?

He hoped she was a fighter. He liked it when they fought. Especially the girls. Seeing their distinctly defiant expressions turn hopeless made him as happy as a kid at Christmas.

"Oi Scab, what are you doing?" he heard Greyback call, interrupting his thoughts. He turned to the snatchers and was now aware that they were all staring at him with very confused looks. They obviously hadn't noticed the scent that was plaguing his senses.

"I thought I saw something" he replied, more to himself then the others. This was more or less a lie. He hadn't seen anything. He had smelt something. But he knew he would sound like some lunatic if he admitted his real thoughts.

He turned back to the spot where the scent was coming from. He inhaled deeply again, allowing the smell of jasmine to wash over him. He leaned forward slightly, wanting to get closer. It was apparent that he could not get to this person.

He wanted so desperately to tear down the walls around her and find her. He wasn't sure how she was able to stay so well hidden. He hadn't come across something like this before. Everyone else they had found and snatched had never been this well protected. This only increased his urge to know who was behind this apparently invisible wall.

She was teasing him. He hated it. He was the best snatcher around. He never failed to find and catch the Mudbloods and blood traitors he was after. And yet this girl was standing here defying him, tarnishing his perfect record and teasing him with that lovely scent.

Oh when he got his hands on her…

His thoughts were interrupted by a thud from up ahead. He looked over to see that the man holding the tent had dropped it.

"What're you doing?" he asked the idiot.

"It's heavy" the guy complained in response.

Scabior turned away from the scent and focused on the problem at hand. "Oh I'm sorry, do you want me to carry it?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The guy looked hopeful for a moment. "Yeah, that'd be-"

"Don't be ridiculous" Scabior replied as he moved away from the spot. "Pick it up" he ordered.

The idiot reluctantly bent down to pick up the tent.

Scabior rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed his team. He looked back at the spot the scent had come from as he went. This wasn't over. He would find her. No one stayed hidden from him for long.

**So there you go. A little insight into what Scabior might have been thinking during that fateful almost-meeting. Next chapter: Scabior and Hermione find themselves dwelling on their almost-meeting. **

**if you alert or fave this fanfic please review. No offense but i see it as kind of rude if you just sub/fave it and not leave a review. As much as i'm flattered that you like it enough to sub it and fave it, it would be nice if you could leave a review to tell me what you like or don't like about it.**

**Love you all :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Horcrux's toll**

For the next few weeks Hermione couldn't stop thinking about the snatcher. Every time she closed her eyes his face was there, haunting her. Every time a twig snapped or leaves rustled she'd whip around, thinking he had come back. That he'd found them.

She was tired. She hadn't slept properly since the almost-meeting. Because he was always there, watching her. He haunted her dreams and turned them to nightmares. And she couldn't sleep. Tired and grumpy, she often took her short fuse out on Ron and Harry. Especially Ron. She knew he was under the influence of the horcrux whenever his temper started to boil and he'd complain a lot. About the food. About the cold. About anything and everything there was to complain about.

But she was weary and tired. A bad combination. And she would often get in snippy arguments with him because of it. She always regretted it. It wasn't his fault the horcrux magnified his misery more than it did with her or Harry.

As Hermione sat outside the tent on her watch, she thought about the horcruxes and how much of a toll it was having on them. But every now and again a different thought would enter her mind. One with the face that haunted her in her sleep, tormenting her and keeping her up at night. His face. The snatcher's face. She couldn't help it. He was always there.

She was so tired. Her eyes drooped slowly as she fought to stay awake. It was her turn to be on watch-duty. She couldn't fall asleep. If she did and they got caught it would be all her fault. So she had to stay awake.

…so weary….

Her head lolled downwards and she closed her eyes, unable to stay awake. For a moment she sat there in peaceful almost-sleep.

Then face flashed through her mind.

She snapped back to alertness. Sighing, she went back inside the tent. She couldn't keep watch under these circumstances. She looked for Harry, hoping he would take her shift for her.

"Harry?" she called out softly.

Harry looked up, instantly alert. "What's up? Is something there?" he asked quickly as he stood up.

Hermione waved him back down. "No….was just wondering if you could keep watch….tired" she said as she fought to stay awake.

Harry saw how tired Hermione was and instantly agreed. She needed to sleep. Hermione gratefully collapsed on her bed as Harry took up the watch post.

The second she was asleep her dreams were invaded by Him. He was laughing. Taunting her.

Hermione woke suddenly. She wiped a frustrated tear from her cheek as she rolled over, trying to sleep without his invasion. She had to sleep. She was too tired.

Hermione was miserable. She couldn't sleep. And she was aware that the tension between Harry and Ron was coming to a head. She wanted desperately to divert their collision but she was too tired.

Unfortunately their collision did come. Hermione's spirits were finally starting to rise after she and Harry had finally worked out a way to destroy the horcruxes.

But they were dashed almost instantly as Ron came in, looking utterly furious.

Hermione looked up warily as Ron entered with a very angry expression. She watched as Harry turned to Ron, worry entering her expression.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked in what appeared to be a relatively calm tone.

Hermione knew him well enough to know that he was holding back his anger and frustration, which was an incredible feat in itself for Harry.

Ron on the other hand wasn't holding back his anger. Hermione could see very clearly that he was seething.

"Nothing's wrong. Not according to you anyway." Ron replied sarcastically.

"Look if you've got something to say don't be shy. Spit it out" Harry encouraged, his tone dripping with frustration.

Harry and Ron were now glaring daggers at each other and Hermione wasn't sure whether to intervene or not. Maybe they'd work it out without things having to get ugly.

"Alright, I'll spit it out" Ron began. Hermione's heart clenched at his tone. _No Ron, don't do this_ she thought desperately.

"Well don't expect me to be grateful because there's another damn thing we've gotta find" Ron spat. Hermione saw a glimmer of silver. Ron was wearing the locket. She had to get it away from him before he did something they'd all regret.

"Ron" she murmured. But the boys were too wrapped up in their building argument to take any notice of her.

"I thought you knew what you signed up for" Harry objected, his voice raised now.

Ron just glowered. "Yeah, I thought I did to."

"Well I'm sorry but I don't quite understand" Harry said as he stood up and walked over to Ron.

"Harry, stop" Hermione pleaded as she stood up to follow Harry. But she was ignored again. She couldn't believe they were doing this. They were supposed to be working together not bickering and fighting.

"What part of this isn't living up to your expectations" Harry spat, no longer hiding his rage. "Did you think we were going to be staying in a five-star hotel, finding a horcrux every other day? You thought you'd be back with your mum by Christmas?" he taunted.

"I just thought after all this time, we would have actually achieved something" Ron retorted furiously.

"Stop it, both of you! We're supposed to be working together, not ripping at each other's throats!" Hermione shouted now, desperate to get the two boys to stop fighting. But the boys were too fired up to listen to reason.

"I thought you knew what you were doing" Ron continued over Hermione. "I thought Dumbledore would have told you something worthwhile. I thought you had a plan-"

"I told you everything Dumbledore told me!" Harry cut off. "And in case you haven't noticed we have found a horcrux already" he continued, motioning to the locket Ron was wearing.

Hermione knew she had to get it off him. She couldn't let this continue, it was getting too bad, for all of them.

"Yeah and we're about as close to getting rid of them as we are to finding the rest of them aren't we" Ron countered as Hermione moved closer to him.

"Ron" she called, barely able to get her voice above a whisper. "Please…take-" she began she attempted to take the locket from Ron. But he just batted her hand away. "Please take the horcrux off. You wouldn't be saying any of this if you hadn't been wearing it all day" she said, trying to calm the situation down.

"You don't know why I listen to the radio do you?" Ron said to Harry, ignoring everything Hermione had just said. Tears were welling up in her eyes now.

"To make sure I don't hear Ginny's name. Or Fred, or George, or mum" he continued, trying to keep his temper in check.

"You think I'm not listening too?" Harry shouted.

Hermione turned to Harry. "Harry please, stop. This is getting out of control" she begged as a tear fell down her cheek.

But Harry was too angry to listen to her. "You think I don't know how this feels?" he yelled, making Hermione uneasy.

"No you don't know how it feels!" Ron retorted back angrily. Hermione flinched at Ron's raised voice. "Your parents are dead. You have no family!" Ron added.

Hermione gasped. "Harry, don't listen to him, it's just the horcrux. He didn't mean it" she defended as Harry ran at Ron. "No, stop!" she cried as Harry started attacking Ron. "Stop, both of you" she shouted, trying to pull them off each other.

"Fine then, go!" Harry bellowed as Hermione pushed him away from Ron. "Go then!"

Hermione breathed deeply to stop herself from crying more. "Harry no" she pleaded in a soft voice.

Ron took the horcrux off and threw it away, glaring daggers at Harry as he did. He picked up his bag and moved to the mouth of the tent before turning back to Hermione. "And you?" he asked, addressing her for the first time since the argument began. Hermione was taken aback by this. "Are you coming or are you staying?" he asked with a steady voice.

Hermione glanced back at Harry who was watching them. She could tell by the look on his face that he expected her to leave with Ron. She turned back to Ron and hesitated. She loved Ron. And she wanted to go with him. But she couldn't leave Harry. She promised to help him find and destroy all the horcruxes. And she had to see it through.

Her decision must have showed because Ron replied before she could say anything. "Fine, I get it. I saw you two the other night" he accused.

Hermione looked shocked ."Wha-? Ron, that's – that's nothing" she tried to persuade, desperately hoping he'd change his mind about leaving. But Ron didn't seem to believe it and left.

Hermione instantly ran after him. "Ron!" she called as she went. "Ron, where are you going?" But Ron was running. She knew he was heading out of the protecting enchantments so he could disapparate. She had to stop him. "Ron, come back" she shouted as she dashed after him.

"No! I get it. You choose him. I should have known" Ron shouted back without turning.

"No, Ron-" she began. But he'd made it out of the enchantments and disapparated instantly, leaving a tear-stained Hermione behind. "Ron! Come back!" she called to no one. She couldn't stop the tears from falling now. He was gone. Just like that. She stood there for a moment, unable to process this properly. Once it sunk in that he wasn't coming back she slowly turned and walked back to the tent. Ron was gone. She hadn't been able to bring him back. He hadn't wanted to stay with them. With her.

She quickly rubbed her eyes, trying to dry them before re-entering the tent. "He's gone" she said to Harry who looked up instantly upon her return. "Disapparated" she added before sinking onto her bed.

The snatcher didn't enter Hermione's dreams that night, making it the first time since their almost-meeting. Her dreams were too tormented by Ron's departure to worry about the mysterious snatcher.

Hermione sat on her bed, trying to keep tears from falling. It had been a few days since Ron had left and Hermione couldn't stop thinking about him. She tried reading her book _Tales of Beedle the Bard _to take her mind off it. But it wasn't working. She couldn't shut out the horrible feeling she had felt when Ron had left. And she couldn't help wondering if Harry would leave too. Ron had been right, after all. They hadn't accomplished much at all since they started. One of these days Harry might wake up and realize that she wasn't helping him. That he didn't need her. She couldn't fight the feeling that he was going to leave too.

Ron had gone. It was only a matter of time before Harry left her too.

_Of course he'll leave_ a voice whispered to her softly, tauntingly. _What reason does he have to stay? What can you offer him?_

Hermione shook her head and wiped away more tears. These thoughts had been entering her mind more and more since Ron had left.

_Ron's already gone_ the voice continued, mocking her softly and driving her slowly insane. _He left you. He deserted you. He abandoned you._

NO!

Hermione threw the book away in frustration. If wasn't helping to block out these thoughts at all.

The book hit the radio and it crackled to life. Hermione's eyes shot to the radio. Ron had left it behind. She stood up and picked up the radio before carrying it back to her bed, listening to it as she went. It started to soothe her inner fears. She put it down next to her and just sat there listening to it. It wasn't a particularly good song. But it was enough.

Almost

_Ron's gone. Harry's on his way out. All you have is this radio. Sad, really._

Hermione tried to ignore the voice.

_He's gone_

She changed the radio station, searching for something else.

_He left you_

She continued fiddling with the radio. It sounded crackly. She wanted to fix it.

_It's only a matter of time_

A sad song started playing. Hermione flicked the station. A slightly more catchy song started. She listened to it, trying to drown out the voice.

_Harry will leave too._

She started humming along.

_You'll be all alone_

She started murmuring the words, almost singing. She was desperate to block out the voice. Something it seemed to be well aware of because a moment later it changed tack.

_Snatcher snatcher snatcher! _It taunted.

Hermione cried out in frustration as a voice started laughing. She noticed the horcrux glowing. Of course. She was wearing it. She instantly took it off and threw it across the room.

Harry came rushing in a moment later. "Is everything alright?" he asked worriedly.

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine" she assured him. Harry looked at her with concerned eyes before going back to his watch.

Hermione reluctantly reached over and picked up the Horcrux. They couldn't leave it lying around. She would have to wear it a bit longer. She fetched her book back too. Trying to solve its mystery might help. She was only reading it before.

After a moment she was engrossed in the book. Dumbledore left it to her for a reason. She would find out what it was.

After an hour she was asleep with the book resting against her stomach gently.

_Hermione ran through the forest at a breakneck pace. She had to run. She had to catch up. She could see the red-headed figure running ahead. She had to catch him. _

"_No, Ron wait!" she cried out as she ran. But Ron kept running. He didn't even reply. He just ran. So she followed. She wasn't going to let him go. _

"_Ron, please come back!" she shouted pleadingly. _

_Suddenly Ron was standing in front of her._

"_I'm leaving, Hermione" he told her._

_Hermione shook her head, tears threatening to fall. "No, you can't. You can't leave, I need you" she begged._

_Ron didn't react to this at all. "I'm not coming back" he continued. "You don't need me anymore. You have Harry" he said calmly, as if in a trance._

_As if on cue, Harry appeared next to Ron with the same trance-like look on his face. "I'm leaving too Hermione" he told her._

_Hermione looked at him, shocked. "What? But you can't. We have to finish the mission. We have to destroy all the horcruxes!" she exclaimed in a panic._

_Harry shook his head. "I'm going ahead alone. I don't need you" he said almost mockingly. "You haven't helped anything anyway."_

"_No, we can still work it out. I know we can" she argued._

_Harry and Ron just turned away from her. "Goodbye Hermione" they said in unison. As they walked away they slowly began to fade to nothing._

"_No! Ron! Harry! You can't leave me! You have to come back" she sobbed as she collapsed to the ground in a broken heap. Her two best friends were abandoning her. Just like that. It couldn't be true. Why would they just leave? Did they not care about her? _

"_I need you" she called out feebly, feeling her heart break in two. "Please come back."_

_**Scene change**_

_Hermione was running again. This time she was running through a forest that resembled the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts somewhat. _

_This time she felt she was running for a different reason. The urgency was still there. But she was now running away not towards._

_She looked to her left and saw two men running parallel to her. Fear entered her and she ran faster, darting between and avoiding all the trees as she went. _

_She could hear someone running behind her now. She turned to see someone about three metres away. He was closing in on her quickly._

_Her urgency increased and she added an extra burst of speed. She had to get away. _

_Up ahead someone was standing in her path, as if waiting for her. Screaming, she skidded to a halt._

_But it was just Harry._

_She looked at him fearfully. "No, Harry. You can't be here. They'll catch you" she called to him. _

_But by the time the words left her mouth she saw they were quickly being surrounded. She darted for Harry and grabbed his hand before running away, dragging him with her._

"_We have to get out of here. They can't get you! You have to finish destroying the horcruxes."_

_Then a snatcher appeared out of nowhere. Hermione gasped. It was the same snatcher she had seen through the wards that time. He smirked cruelly at them before lunging for Harry. "well well well, if it isn't the chosen one" he said mockingly. "We'll be taking a nice little trip to the ministry, I reckon" he said before disapparating,_

"_No! harry!" Hermione called to nothing. She looked around, desperately hoping they were still there. Her eyes fell on another pair._

_The snatcher was back. She backed away slowly before realizing the snatcher had Ron._

"_Ron!" Hermione screamed, attempting to get to him. But someone grabbed her from behind and held her in place._

"_No, let me go" she struggled. She turned to get a glimpse at who was holding her and gasped. It was the same snatcher. "No" she murmured to herself_

"_Let him go, please, let him go" she begged._

_The snatcher just laughed at her before throwing Ron to the ground and kicking him hard. _

"_NO!" Hermione screeched. _

_Then the snatcher pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ron. "Crucio!" he called. Ron instantly began thrashing around on the ground in pain._

_Hermione's screams echoed through the forest, almost drowning out Ron's. She fought harder against her captor, desperate to help Ron. But her captor just continued to laugh at her and pulled her closer to him._

_Meanwhile, the one torturing Ron seemed to have gotten over it. He ended the curse but still had his wand pointed at Ron._

_Hermione stopped struggling for a moment, wondering whether the snatcher would leave him alone now. _

_Of course he didn't._

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

"_No! Ron!"_

_Hermione managed to wrench herself out of her captor's grip and Run to a now fallen Ron. As soon as she reached him he disappeared._

_Hermione cried out in frustration as the scene in the forest dissolved around her and gave way to a darkly lit room._

_She looked around hesitantly, wondering where she was. A moment later she saw someone in the shadows. She squinted to see who it was._

_It was Harry._

_She smiled in relief and made her way over to him. But a moment later Voldemort apparated in behind him. Hermione screamed at his appearance. "Harry look out!" she cried, trying to run to him. But someone grabbed her from behind, holding her in place. She tried to struggle out of his grip but it was no use. Her captor had a very tight grip on her. _

_He just laughed at her attempts. "By all means continue struggling" he egged on. Hermione's head whipped around. It was that snatcher. He was back._

"_No no, we're meant to be watching" the snatcher told her mockingly before clasping her chin and turning her head back so they were watching Harry and Voldemort._

_Voldemort now had Harry cornered. Hermione tried to get away and help Harry. But the snatcher quickly placed a hand over her mouth, muffling her sound. _

_Voldemort was pointing his wand at Harry._

_No, Hermione thought as she struggled extra hard to get away from the snatcher. She saw that Harry's wand was on the ground at Voldemort's feet. He was helpless. She struggled harder._

"_Avada" Voldemort began._

_Hermione bit the snatcher's hand and he instantly yanked it away. His grip loosened at Hermione instantly darted away._

"_Kedavra" _

_Green light jetted out of Voldemort's wand and hit Harry square in the chest. Harry was sent flying through the air._

"_NOOOOO!" Hermione screamed out. Her scream mingled with Voldemort's high cruel laughter as she felt the snatcher's arms around her once more._

Hermione shot up, her eyes darting around her. She was in a tent. She sighed with relief. She was safe. She wasn't at the mercy of Voldemort and the mysterious snatcher.

She wiped away tears from her eyes as she breathed deeply, trying to calm down. The locket was glowing around her neck. She quickly took it off and stared at it for a bit. She had never slept with it on before. Had it been responsible for her bad dreams? She had been having nightmares of the snatcher since their almost-meeting so it couldn't have been responsible for those.

But this dream seemed to combine everything she feared into one horrible nightmare. She looked at the locket with loathing before throwing it away in disgust. She could have sworn she could hear high mocking laughter.

She approached the locket and pulled out her wand. "Reducto!" she shouted, blasting the locket backwards. It didn't leave a mark, of course. But she had to take her anger and frustration out on something. She continued blasting the locket before Harry came in, looking terrified and determined.

"Hermione, wha-?" he began before his eyes locked on her. He took in her pale and tear-stained appearance and saw the locket on the ground. His eyes softened now he knew they were in no danger.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Hermione wanted to nod and lie. But she couldn't. Slowly, she shook her head. "No. I had another nightmare" she told him, feeling slightly ashamed. She sounded like a little kid.

Harry moved towards Hermione. "You've been crying" he noticed.

Hermione quickly wiped away the remaining tears. "I'm fine now. It just shocked me is all" she tried to explain.

Harry nodded sympathetically. "Maybe you should try getting some sleep" he suggested.

Hermione shook her head adamantly. She couldn't go back to sleep. The images might come back. "No, I'm not really tired" she lied. She could tell he knew it too. "Could I…sit with you?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry looked a bit surprised before nodding. "Sure. It's getting a bit boring by myself anyway" he joked as they walked out of the tent together and sat down outside it.

They sat out there in silence for a while, both deep in thought. Hermione was trying to forget her dream. It felt so real. Was that just the effects of the horcrux? She wondered if it affected Harry in the same way it did her. It seemed to make Harry and Ron angry but it just succeeded in scaring and upsetting Hermione. She had a feeling it enjoyed tormenting her that way. Before Ron had left, every time she wore the Horcrux she would constantly be plagued by thoughts of the snatcher. He would always appear before her with that piercing stare. Haunting her. Mocking her. And he would still be there when she closed her eyes.

A lone tear fell from Hermione's eyes as her thought spiral continued.

Harry must've noticed. "You know, whenever I had a bad dream I always felt better after I'd talked about it to you and Ron" he coaxed.

Hermione sighed. "I just…keep thinking about Ron." She was silent for a moment, thinking. "The snatcher" she said at last. "He found us. And he was chasing us through the forest. He got you and disapparated you away" she explained, her voice shaking now. "And then he came back and…and…and Ron"

She paused as she tried to pull herself back together. The tears had come back by this time.

"he-he killed Ron" she said eventually. "I tried to run over to him but he disappeared and then the scene changed. And you and you-know-who were there."

She noticed Harry tense at this.

"I-I tried to stop him. But the snatcher came back. And he grabbed me. I couldn't get away. And You-know-who he-he" she couldn't continue now. She broke down in a sobbing mess. She couldn't forget the feeling she felt when Harry and Ron had been killed.

Harry watched her awkwardly. He'd never been good at comforting emotional girls. He eventually reached over and tentatively patted her on the back.

Hermione realized he was uncomfortable and wiped her tears away, laughing slightly. "I'm making you uncomfortable. Sorry" she apologized.

Harry shook his head. "Don't apologize. You had a pretty awful dream. I can understand how you'd be feeling" he soothed.

"It was awful. I've never had such a horrible nightmare ever" she said with a sob.

They sat there in silence for a while, each caught up in their own thoughts.

Hermione eventually had to voice what she'd been worrying about. "Harry, would you ever leave?" she asked.

Harry looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Ron left. I was just wondering if you'd ever thought about leaving too" She explained.

Harry's expression changed from worried to surprise. "Leave you? You think I'd leave on my own?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I'd worried you would"

Harry's expression softened. "Of course I wouldn't. I wouldn't last two days without you around" he admitted. "Ron agrees too" he added.

Hermione smiled at him.

After a moment, Harry started laughing.

Hermione frowned. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"It's just, I can't believe you were worrying that I would leave you" he said between laughs.

"Hey, it's not that funny. I can't help it if I get worried" she defended.

Harry shook his head. "No, no, I'm not making fun of you. I'm just relieved" he explained.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Relieved?" she repeated, not understanding.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. When Ron left, I was worried you would want to leave me. I was expecting you to pack up and go" he admitted softly.

Hermione shook her head as she joined in with Harry's laughter. "Wow, what a pair we make" she commented. Some of the tension she'd been carrying seemed to lift off her shoulders as they sat there laughing. She almost even forgot about the Snatcher and Ron.

Almost.

**The end is a reference to the book because at this point Harry is worrying that Hermione would leave so that's why i added it in. **

**Also i was going to add in the dancing scene here too but i couldn't figure out how to do it and was a little lazy. lol. It's long enough anyway. Hope you liked it :D**


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